Madam, – Tom Clonan expresses surprise that St Brendan the Navigator should feature among the paintings and frescoes in the historic church of Täby Kyrkby in Sweden (Letter from Stockholm, February 19th).
He speculates that the link can be explained by Swedish Vikings travelling to Ireland as marauders, contrary to the generally accepted view that the Vikings who raided and subsequently settled in this country were almost all from Norway and Denmark.
I think the painting in Täby Kyrkby is directly attributable to the fame of St Brendan throughout medieval Europe, thanks to the manuscript Navagatio sancti Brendani abbatis, which recounted his legendary voyages to strange lands to the west. It was a best seller of its day and even Christopher Columbus is believed to have been influenced by it.
As a result St Brendan has associations with many European countries and even has a church dedicated to him in Sicily.
Tom Clonan’s obervations on the physical similarities between some Swedes and Irish probably has more to do with the many Scottish – and to a lesser extent Irish – mercenaries who fought in the armies of Gustavus Adolphus and other Swedish monarchs than with the offspring of Viking marauders. – Yours, etc.
GER SCULLY, Convent View, Tullamore, Co Offaly.